by Elissa Lachman (P5 2020)

      “Where is this guy?” I said to myself as I glanced at my watch. I was supposed to go on a date with this boy, Peter, whom I had met at the library a few weeks ago. I was studying there for a History quiz when I saw him. He had sandy brown hair, emerald green eyes and scarlet-coloured lips. I was looking for a book that I needed when I saw him holding it. I said politely, “Hello! Sorry to bother you but I think I need that book you are holding. Could I borrow it from you?” He looked at me, and a smirk spread across his face, he chuckled, and suggested, “How about we study together?”

 

      “What are you studying for?” I hesitated.

 

      “A History assessment, I am in the same History class as you, you know?” he said. I then wondered why I had never seen him in my class before.

 

     Although I was hesitant at first, it turned out that revising with Peter was rather fun! We joked and laughed and mocked old English warriors and forgot we were in a library. Peter borrowed the book and a few others, and we strolled to my house. I introduced him to my mother, “Hey, mom! This is Peter. He is in my History class and I saw him in the library, and we studied together. Peter, this is my mother, Ms. Jean.”

 

      “Nice to meet you, Ms. Jean!” Peter beamed. After studying for a few hours, Peter said goodbye and left.

 

      Peter and I started hanging out often, going to cafes and taking walks in the park. One fine day, we were walking in a nearby park when Peter brought me to a beautiful bridge. The bridge was painted pearl white and it wore a sweater of roses and peonies. That was where Peter asked me to be his girlfriend, and of course I said yes.

 

      It was awkward at first, like the holding hands, and the compliments, but after a while it became normal, blissful too. Then, he asked me if I wanted to go on a little date night with him, “How about I bring you to a romantic restaurant called Tavern on The Green? My treat!” I knew that restaurant was very romantic and expensive, and I thought it was a perfect idea, so I nodded in agreement. He then told me he would make a reservation and I could sit down and relax while waiting for him. I asked where he was going to be and all he said was, “Secret!”

 

      When I got to Tavern on The Green, I was greeted with the most breath-taking sight. The inside seating had fuchsia-coloured tablecloths and chairs with flowers imprinted on them. There were chandeliers dangling from the ceiling and large, elegant pillars. The outside seating was magnificent too. There were coconut-coloured tables and chairs and trees with viridian-coloured leaves. The trees also supported the little lamps that hovered above the tables. Peter reserved a seat that was outdoors, which I preferred, and I sat down and waited for him to arrive.

 

      He already told me he would be late but that the reason was a secret, according to him. So, I distracted myself by browsing through social media on my phone. However, he did not mention how late he would be, so I looked at my watch, and he was already fifteen minutes late. I texted him “Where are you?” but he did not answer. I searched for him around the restaurant, the inside seating too, but to no avail. I plopped back down onto my seat and carried on browsing through my phone, keeping one eye on the watch for Peter. Fifteen minutes went by… thirty minutes went by… forty-five minutes went by, but Peter still did not show up. I kept texting him, asking where he was, but he never answered. I felt so disappointed. Not only had he hung me out to dry like this, but he also made me look foolish, too. This restaurant was supposed to be for couples, but I was sitting by myself. Once or twice some people also came by, asking if they could take the chair that Peter was supposed to sit in, but I said that he was coming soon. I tried calling him, but it went to voicemail, and his voicemail said “Sorry, busy hanging out with my girlfriend! Please leave a message!” I rolled my eyes. Yeah right, he was hanging out with me!

 

       An hour had gone by, and he still did not show up. I decided to check his Instagram to see if he posted anything new or if he was online. He had posted something new! It was him in his bed, with the caption saying “Good night! Sweet dreams!” Once I saw that, I was so disappointed in him, tears flowed down my cheeks uncontrollably and I left the restaurant and locked myself in my room. My mother was aware that I was upset, and she asked me what was wrong. She said gently, “Lara, is everything okay? How did your date with Peter go?” But I did not bother to answer her.

 

       The next day in school, Peter was acting like nothing was wrong, he noticed I was not acting normal and he asked, “Lara, is everything okay?” I wanted to confront him, asking why he had not shown up, but I also wanted to lie and pretend that I was fine.

 

       “I am fine, just feeling a bit sick, that is all!” I said, lying through my teeth. Later after school, when we went to my house, he checked his emails and saw that Tavern on The Green had sent an email the day before, telling him since he did not show up for over an hour, they had to cancel his reservation. When he read that, he looked at me and I burst into tears. He realized why I was acting strange and apologized, “I am so, so, so sorry! I forgot we had our date night scheduled and I was really tired because we had Lacrosse practice, that is why I could not text you; you know how coach Tim is right?” I said softly, “It is over now anyways, Peter, no point talking about it now!”

 

      After a week or so, Peter still felt very guilty, and he tried to make it up to me by bringing me to an ice cream parlour near our school. After a nice long conversation with some laughs in between, I finally forgave Peter. As the saying by Mother Teresa goes “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”